Country Brief

Located in the middle of West Africa, north of Ghana, Burkina Faso is a very strategic LDC in terms of West Africa’s regional integration. Burkina Faso is a member of nearly all West African institutions and is home to the WAEMU headquarters. The country is striving to enhance its infrastructure and communication strategies (ICTs) with the support of key development institutions such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank in order to boost its competitiveness. Burkina has placed itself as one of the leading players in the region for the export of cotton and also increasingly for the export of gold which has become its largest export commodity.

Burkina Faso is an eligible country under the Enhanced Integrated Framework and has already undertaken a tier 2 project to boost sesame exports in its efforts to diversify its economy. Furthermore, despite some minor trouble spots, the country has been experiencing well acclaimed years of political stability and has made significant efforts to enhance its business environment. Burkina is also part of ITC’s Ethical fashion initiative which promotes its well-known hand woven fabrics to the fashion industry.

Export potential

Notes: Top 20 products listed in decreasing order of their export potential to the world. Development indicators are relative to the country’s current situation, green indicating performance above its trade-weighted median and red otherwise. A blank cell indicates that data are not available. A blank cell in export potential means that the product was not consistently demanded over five years by any country in the respective region. Exports (US$ thousand) correspond to average exports to the world over the period 2009-2013.